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Topic: Pending Duct Excision.....PLEASE HELP

Forum: Not Diagnosed but Worried —

Meet others worried about developing breast cancer for the first time. Posting pictures of symptoms is NOT recommended - you are encouraged to seek advice from a medical professional in the event of any concerns.

I'm scheduled for a duct excision this Friday, Nov. 21 and I need answers from anyone who has been through this. I've had a discharge for about 3 months (it had red blood cells in it), but now for about 3 weeks I've had no discharge and I'm told that at the time of surgery, the surgeon will attempt to elicit the discharge, if the discharge is present a small cathether will be place in the duct and blue dye will be injected into the duct to stain it for removal. However if the discharge is not present, then all the ducts behind the nipple will need to be removed. I am so concerned about this...I have not been told I have cancer because they really could not find anything on my ultrasound, ductogram, mamo, and MRI. The doctor did say I had widening of the ducts. I am having mixed thoughts now about my pending surgery....did anyone else have a similar situation where they ended up removing all the ducts because of no discharge? What will my breast look like after 1 duct or all the ducts removed? Will I no longer have sensation? Thank you for anyone who can offer any advice or support.

Ok the first procedure is a ductogram, totally useless in my situation and very rarely helpful.I had a duct excision and they removed one duct, the one that had the blood in it.The other ducts where left alone...until.

I found out it was cancer, then they did a lumpectomy and then my breast became not so pleasing looking.I have a huge dent and my nipple is all wonky LOL

But if the discharge has stopped then maybe its nothing.Good vibes :) BTW after my duct excision I lost sensation.

Thank you. I appreciate you responding. I am so freaking out. I've been crying and worrying about this....I've never had surgery and I can't help but worry what happens before, during and after surgery. I spoke to my doctors office today and they said sometimes the discharge stops and it doesn't mean the problem went away so I'm going to have the surgery. I hope I don't panic before they do the surgery. I'm sorry your duct removal turned out to be cancerous. How long ago was this and did you have the lumpectomy soon after the duct removal? Sorry to ask more questions. Take care. I hope you are doing well now.

I had a spontaneous discharge- it only happened every few weeks- The doctors were able to force it out. They explained it did not happen all the time because sometimes it was just a little bit of blood there- not enough to come out.

Mine was caused by a papilloma that was benign.

I had a complete ductal excision. It was an easy day surgery and the nipple looked a little crooked but not bad at all. I had a small scar on the areole

It really is not bad and definitely worth having it taken care of.

It was this papilloma in my right breast that caused the doc to check both and found my lump in the LEFT breast. That little papilloma saved my life- I always think it was Gods flag!

Thank you for your reply. I'm so glad to hear that your surgery went well....I could live with a little crooked. I've been so upset over this. I've had no one to talk to about this....no one seems to have heard of a duct excision. I'm so grateful that you two women replied....it makes me feel I'm not alone. I hope I come out of it as easily as you. Thank you and may God Bless you both and anyone else who may be going through this.

I'm sorry to hear that you are so upset. I am right there with you though, just yesterday I had to schedule my first mammogram because my doc discovered (during a routine breast exam) that I had a dark greyish-green discharge coming from my right breast. I am pretty scared too. How long did the process of all of the procedures take? Weeks, months?

I noticed a small spot on my bra back in July....schedule an appointment with my doctor at the end of July....they took a sample of the discharge to be tested and found red blood cells, so I was referred to a breast specialist who I saw in August. She recommended the mamo, ductogram, ultrasound, and MRI. All the tests were done in September....the MRI took the longest to set up only because it was pending approval for my insurance. Then the surgery was scheduled now, but I could have got in sooner, but I had a lot of stuff going on I didn't want to miss. I don't think you have to worry yet....the good news for you is it's not the brownish red color that I have....I think it draws a red flag when it contains blood. Hopefully you will not have to go through what I've had to over these past several months. My surgery is in 2 1/2 hours from now and I have found the answers I needed on this web site. I didn't sleep well last night. Bottom line...I've come to realize it's out of my control....it's in God's hands, so I have to have more faith that it will go well. Good luck to you.

Thank you for asking. I am doing good. I was so concerned that I did not have a nipple discharge for 3 or 4 weeks before my surgery. I'm happy that my doctor was able to elicit the discharge on the day of my surgery and she removed the one duct....hopefully everything comes back OK. I have little pain today, except for some reason I have lower back pain today, so I took 1 pain med...I don't really like taking the prescription pain meds because it makes me feel light headed...it helped a little. Other than that I feel good...I just feel a little weak and tired.

Did your pathology come back OK from your duct excision? What exactly is a wedge resection?

I'm so glad to hear your results came back benign. Please let me know how your second opinion goes. I hope and pray your second opinion comes back the same. I have my post op appointment tomorrow and hopefully get the results back. Wishing you well.

Hello everyone, i'm 20yrs old this year. Around April-May this year, i had a lump in my right breast near to the nipple area and there's bloody nipple discharge so i did an ultrasound and was going to have a biopsy while taking the antibiotics which my doctor prescribed me with. The day of the biopsy, surprisingly that my lump disappeared and so i've escaped the biopsy. Occasionally i have yellowish discharge from the same nipple and sometimes just white. Recently i went back to my appointment and my doctor squeezed the nipple and she got alarm by the yellowish discharge worrying that might contain blood or cause new lump. Therefore she sent me for ultrasound again but they didn't find anything from the ultrasound and today i had appointment again. My doctor told me that today's discharge was white and it's fine and asked me to come back and see her in three months time. She also mentioned that it if's happening again, she will want me to do a breast duct excision. I was so shocked and went on-line to do some research. Some people's first attempt was not good and had to remove all ducts on the second time. I have lots of questions in my mind because i have never had a surgery before, like, is it really serious that i need to remove the duct? how does the surgery work? will it solve the problem once i have the surgery done? is it better to remove all instead of one to save time and money? And what do i need to do before the surgery if i really have to go for one? I am so worried about this. I really need some answers and truth from people who have gone through this.

I never had surgery before my duct excision less than a month ago. I was petrified on having surgery and I couldn't sleep. I hate needles...I sometimes faint....hospitals and doctors make me nervous....so I am the biggest wimp. But it really was not as bad as I had built it up in my mind. My surgery went smoothly. I had one duct removed, but there was a possibility of all the ducts being removed if the doctor could not locate the exact duct causing the discharge. I have yet to see the scar because there is suture tape still covering the incision. Pathology results only showed atypical cells. Please feel free to ask more questions if needed. It sure helped me. God Bless.

Rene, thank you for replying. How do you prepare yourself for the before and after surgery? Like the dos and don'ts? I would really like to know more just in case i am going for the surgery. I am glad that it's only typical cells for you. I hope you fully recover soon :) By the way, have a blessed christmas in advanced!

There was really no preparation before surgery other than don't eat or drink anything 8 hours before surgery and don't take any Advil 10 days prior to surgery. It was done as an outpatient. The morning of my surgery I got ready as I usually do....there were no restrictions like no lotions or makeup etc. I wore sweats because I was told I'd be able to keep them on, but the nurse at the hospital said no. I was put under with general anesthesia. I don't remember a thing soon after my sister and husband left the room. After the surgery, I came home and rested. I basically took it easy for a week. I put ice on the area the entire first day...20 minutes on 20 minutes off. This helped a lot. I hardly had any pain. I was able to take a shower the next day, but trying not to get the area wet was almost impossible to do, so I ended up changing the bandage daily (doctor said it was OK) until my doctor appointment 5 days later...then after that I no longer needed the bandage. I hope I helped answer some of your questions...feel free to ask if I left something out. Remember to have someone with you....I was able to have someone with me until it was time to go under. Good luck to you. Have a joyous Christmas! God Bless.

Hello, I see this has been a thread that was posted some time ago. I hope someone will still reply. I started having brown discharge from one duct on the left hand discovered with a mamo for follow up after lumpectomy. Lumpectomy was not close to the duct that has the discharge. The mamo was my 3rd(?) 3 month follow up. The first 3 month follow up I had no discharge. Discharge Tested positive for blood. Had a ultra sound and the duct is enlarged with a small lump seen in the duct. The discharge is no longer dark brown after having it for a couple months and has seemed to chaged to a very tiny amount of light red mixed with the discharge. Will see the Dr. in a couple weeks. My question is could the discharge possibly be from the lumpectomy? Even if the lumpectomy was on the bottom part of the breast and the duct is not close to it? Is it normal to have something change so fast? Is this hormonal?

My Dr. did mention that if the ultra sound came back with anything on it they would want to remove all the ducts. Is this the right thing to do? I feel like I am loosing a peice at a time and am stressed. I don't feel the wait and see what happens is ever a good idea.

Sissy,I'm glad you have found this site, but sorry you are having these issues. Discharge can be caused by a number of things--cancer, as well as other things. I'm not sure how long it has been since your lumpectomy--3 months? If so, my initial thought is that the continued discharge would not be from the procedure. The important thing is to be diligent in getting it checked out.

I have had discharge for a number of months now--initial tests showed atypical cells. The second smear showed no atypical cells, but blood. Either way, they are continuing to watch for changes. The "watchful waiting" period is no fun, but I'm glad your appointment is in two weeks. Keep us informed.

Thank you for the reply. I had to try and figure out when it was...The lumpectomy was before Oct.2010 and the discharge was not present when I had it done. My mind is not as sharp as I would like for it to be. I have lost several feet of intestine from a different illness and have nutrition challenges that make my memory somewhat challenged to say the least. I guess in a way it makes the waiting not to awefu since I seem to be able to loose track of time easily. But I do get anxious from time to time....

Did they do other test for the discharge? I will let you know what is next when I see the BS. I figure it might help others since I could find little info on the www. Most info seemed to not say too much.

Hi I have just one breast that leaks and has done now for the last 3 months.The fluid is clear and although my ulrasound was fine the doctor at the breast clinic suggested removing the breast ducts,I dont know wether to go ahead with this or not,do you think i should be safe an not sorry.

The duct excision is the next step to finding out what is going on inside the ducts. Much of the time there is a benign papilloma inside the duct that is causing problems. While a papilloma is usually benign, it is important to get it checked out because some change...You may want to type the words "duct excision" in the search engine at the top, right of this page. This is an older post, but there is a more current one that may help you called "Ductal excision scheduled, what should I expect" (you can get to it by typing the words in the search engine as well)--hope that helps.